title: Intrinsically photosensitive ganglion cells contribute to plasticity in retinal wave circuits.
abstract: Correlated spontaneous activity in the developing nervous system is robust to perturbations in the circuits that generate it, suggesting that mechanisms exist to ensure its maintenance. We examine this phenomenon in the developing retina, where blockade of cholinergic circuits that mediate retinal waves during the first postnatal week leads to the generation of "recovered" waves through a distinct, gap junction-mediated circuit. Unlike cholinergic waves, these recovered waves were modulated by dopaminergic and glutamatergic signaling, and required the presence of the gap junction protein connexin 36. Moreover, in contrast to cholinergic waves, recovered waves were stimulated by ambient light via activation of melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. The involvement of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in this reconfiguration of wave-generating circuits offers an avenue of retinal circuit plasticity during development that was previously unknown.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics Graduate Group and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Lowry A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Kirkby
authors.forename: Marla B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Feller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000072259:Connexin 26; D017630:Connexins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*; D055537:Light Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008857:Microscopy, Interference; D012160:Retina / Q000254:growth & development*; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein; D000099210:Melanopsin
chemical_list: D000072259:Connexin 26; D017630:Connexins; D017299:Rod Opsins; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein; D000099210:Melanopsin
keywords: degenerate circuit; dopamine; retinal development